1. Agenda
Bell Ringer: Writing Intros and Character Development – 20ish minutes
Notes & Practice over Using & Punctuating Dialogue
Advanced: Read I Am Malala “Prologue: The Day my World Changed”
General: Read Persepolis pages 47-71
Formative Assessment
Dialogue Analysis
Develop 2 possible conversations for your narrative
Advanced: Read Persepolis pages for homework

2. Using Dialogue to Develop Characters and Plot
W B: I can include dialogue in my writing to develop the experiences, events, and characters in the text.

3. What is Dialogue?
Dialogue is a spoken exchange between characters in a dramatic or literary work, usually between two or more speakers.
Development
Dialogue is one of the most common ways an author reveals character.
The words a character uses also serve to relate the plot to the reader

4. What Dialogue Should Do
4 Things Dialogue Should Do:
DO reveal characters’ relationships to each other
DO move the story forward
DO increase the tension
DO give a distinct voice to your character
If your dialogue doesn’t do at least one of these things, you might want to reconsider using it!

5. What Dialogue Should Not Do
4 Things Dialogue Should NOT Do:
DON'T go on and on and on.
There should be a good balance between dialogue, action, and reflection.
DON'T info-dump
i.e. show lots of info in the dialogue, instead of in the action
DON’T use to simply repeat information the reader already knows
summarization vs. dialogue
DON'T let the reader get disoriented
Use action tags (e.g. "he said") when they are necessary
Be careful with action tags - they can get repetitive and boring if over-used

6. Bad Examples of Dialogue
“Hey dude. How are you?” Isabel said.
“I’m really good. Thanks for asking. And you?” Gabe said.
“Good, thanks,” Isabel said.
“How do you like the weather?” Gabe asked.
“It’s way too cold,” Isabel answered.
What makes this a bad example?

7. Bad Examples of Dialogue
“My daddy won’t let me play with Stevie’s trucks, which makes me cry because I’m only four years old and I’m already a victim of gender stereotypes.”
What makes this a bad example?

8. Bad Examples of Dialogue
Annie watched in horror as the car ahead of her smashed into the brick wall of the restaurant and burst into flames. Three people ran out of the building to see what had happened. Annie pulled over to see if they needed help, but before she could do anything the fire trucks, police cars, and ambulance arrived on the scene. She decided to drive home instead.
“Something awful happened,” Annie told her sister when she got home.
“What happened?” her sister asked.
“I saw a car crash into the wall of a restaurant and catch fire. Three people rushed outside, and I pulled over to see if I could help, but the fire trucks, police, and ambulance came right away, so I drove home instead.”
What makes this a bad example?

9. Good Examples of Dialogue
“What’s the capital of Spain?” Jerry asked, pausing over his crossword puzzle.
Susan looked up from her book and rolled her eyes. “Madrid, duh.”
“Why are you so sarcastic all the time?” Jerry slammed his pencil on the table. He looked like he was going to cry. “I don’t think I can take much more of this.”
What makes this a good example?
Example of Dialogue that reveals character relationships
Ask what kind of relationship Jerry and Susan have.
Ask how the dialogue makes this relationship clear.

10. Good Examples of Dialogue
The phone rang, and Jerry picked it up.
“Hello?”
There was a moment of silence on the other end.
“Is this Jerry Simmons?” a male voice asked.
“Yeah, who is this?”
The man paused. Jerry could hear him take a deep breath.
“Jerry, my name is Dave. I’m your brother.”
“If this is a prank, it isn’t funny,” Jerry said. “My family died a long time ago.”
“Not your whole family,” Dave said.
Jerry hung up the phone.
What makes this a good example?
Example of Dialogue that moves the story forward
Ask how the plot has been advanced in this exchange.

11. Good Examples of Dialogue
“Dave!” Jerry shouted. “We’ve got to get away from here! The building’s gonna blow!”
“We’ve got to go back!” Dave screamed.
“Why?”
Dave pointed at the roof. “Susan’s still up there!”
What makes this a good example?
Example of Dialogue that increases the tension
Ask what tension has been established.

12. Punctuating Dialogue
Indent each time a new character talks/the speaker changes.
This helps the reader keep track of who is talking.
In general, use a comma between the dialogue and the dialogue tag line, unless you use alternate punctuation.
For example:
“He never loved you,” she said.
“He never loved you!” she said.
“He never loved you?” she said.
Punctuation that goes with the dialogue stays inside the quotation mark.

13. General Read Persepolis pages 47-71 Complete the Dialogue Analysis
Use one conversation from The Heroes
Use one conversation from Moscow

14. Advanced Read I Am Malala “Prologue: The Day my World Changed”
Complete the Dialogue Analysis
Use one conversation from Persepolis pages 47-71
Use one conversation from I Am Malala “Prologue: The Day my World Changed”

15. Formative Assessment
Write two different exchanges of dialogue that could be used in your narrative.
Each use of dialogue should have at least 3 back and forth exchanges.
Be sure to first identify the purpose of your dialogue
Reveal relationships
Move the plot forward
Increase the tension
Add voice to a character

16. Advanced Homework
Read pages of Persepolis by the beginning of next class.
Don’t forget to be filling out your reading strategies chart.